


A Truce, of Sorts

by WowzaPigs



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Gen, ZADF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 01:44:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20649167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WowzaPigs/pseuds/WowzaPigs
Summary: Not ZADR, they’re only friends.Zim throws rocks at Dib’s window in the middle of the night and drags him all the way across town on a whim.





	A Truce, of Sorts

Dib is about to go to sleep when he hears something hit his window. Part of the roof? A branch? He ignores it. Until he hears it again, and again. When Dib walks over to his window to investigate, he is greeted by the sight of Zim, preparing to throw another pebble at his window. Dib opens the window and leans out.

“Zim!”  
“Get down here, Dib-smell!”  
“Zim, I’m in my pyjamas.”  
“Eh? I don’t care.”  
“It’s the middle of the night.”  
“And?”  
“Go to sleep.”  
“I can’t.”  
“Why not?”  
“Just get down here already, ugly!”  
“Okay, the insults aren’t helping.”  
“Shut up, Dib-face.”  
“Are you just going to keep throwing rocks at my window until I come down?”  
“Yes.”

Dib sighs, and closes the window, making a point to descend to the lower level of the house as slowly as he can. What does Zim want from him at this hour? Opening the door, he’s greeted by Zim, who’s nervously tapping his leg. For an extremely jittery alien, he seems more jittery than normal.  
“Well?” Dib prompts.  
“Come with me.”  
“What are you talking about, Zim?”  
Zim narrows his eyes. “Shut up, earth-boy.” He grabs Dib by the wrist and yanks him out of the doorframe, pulling him towards a car parked outside the home.  
“Zim! Where did you get this? Did you steal it?”  
“Relax, human, I bought it with my earth monies. I got a ‘summer job,’ as you call it.”  
“Do you even know how to drive this thing?”  
“Dib, your earth cars are easy to figure out. No challenge for a mighty Irken such as myself.”  
“Uh huh. Mighty.”  
Dib had grown about two inches in the past year, which he enjoyed constantly holding over Zim. It had decreased the comments about his head, if only slightly. 

Dib gets in the car, despite his better judgement. If Zim is up to something, he wants to be there. Besides, he brought a new alien-detecting device with him and wants to see if it works. Zim has clearly modified the car so that he can reach the pedals and see over the dashboard. A small UFO keychain hangs from the rear view mirror.

“Where are we going?”  
Zim doesn’t answer. His face is scrunched up in concentration. He drives over the bridge at the edge of the city and towards the bay, finally parking near a grassy hill next to the water. He opens the door and gets out.

“Well?” Dib demands, “are you going to tell me why you brought me all the way out here?”  
Now that he thinks of it, Zim has been acting weird ever since summer break started. He’s been quieter, and hasn’t tried to invade the Earth in a long time.  
“Well, eh…” Zim trails off, unsure.  
“Go on, spit it out.”  
“I have nothing to do anymore since school ended.”  
“What about invading the Earth?”  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m still doing that.”  
“But?”  
“The Tallest won’t reply to my transmissions. So I’m taking one of your human rain checks on the invasion until I get in contact with them again.”  
“Okay? So why did you drag me all the way out here in the middle of the night?”  
“There’s nobody in the base besides GIR and me. It’s… very quiet. Like I said, human, I couldn’t sleep. I was hoping that being around you would be as tiring as it usually is.”  
Zim’s attempts at snarky deflection don’t get past Dib. He can sense the desperation underneath Zim’s voice that lead him to seek out his worst enemy for company in the middle of the night.

Against the night sky, Zim looks very small and very alone.  
“You’re… lonely?”  
The Irken huffs. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, human.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“Well, you have Gaz, and your dad, and the other humans from school. All I have are the Tallest, and they’re a million miles away on their stupid ship, not responding to me.”  
“Are you kidding? Gaz only barely tolerates me, and dad’s working all the time. The other kids from school either hate me or think I’m crazy. I think I understand loneliness pretty well. You have GIR, at least.”  
“Let’s be honest, human, GIR isn’t exactly… mentally stimulating company. He can’t take anything seriously. You, on the other hand, take everything too seriously.”  
“Hey! Not true!” Dib sits up, indignant. Zim laughs at his reaction, but it’s not as mean-spirited as it usually is.  
“It is true, Dib-stink, and you know it.”  
“Not like you’re one to talk, anyways,” Dib grumbles.  
“My point is, GIR is more of a hyperactive child than someone I could have a real conversation with.”  
“Why me? Why not literally any other human?”  
Zim snorts derisively. “You’re the only Earthnoid who’s even remotely my equal. You were the only one who saw through my ingenious disguise, and the only human worth any attention on this miserable hunk of rock.”  
“Thank you?”  
“Shut up. You’re still disgusting and inferior.”  
“Superior in some ways.”  
Dib straightens out, deliberately making himself taller than the Irken.  
“Yeah, like the size of your stupid head.”  
“Oh, haha, Dib’s head is huge. I’ve never heard that one before.”  
“It’s the only reason you’re taller than me.”

“Anyways, you’re really not planning anything?”  
“I’m planning a movie marathon tomorrow.”  
“Is that an invitation?”  
“Ha! Of course not, you pathetic worm baby.” Zim pauses. “Why, do you want to come?”  
Dib ponders. It would be helpful to keep an eye on Zim, make sure he’s really telling the truth. On the other hand, the alien does seem to genuinely be in distress. The disappearance of the Tallest has taken a toll on him. Not that he’d ever admit that.  
“I mean, I guess it’s better than doing all of Gaz’s chores for her. What are you watching?”  
“Sharknado.”  
“Really, Zim?”  
“It’s important to absorb some of your Earth culture in order to assess what your species sees as a threat.”  
“Ah yes. Sharknado, the pinnacle of human culture.”  
“Shut up, stupid.”  
“The fact that you’re older than me constantly amazes me.”  
Zim shoves Dib in an attempt to push him over, but Dib remains firmly grounded, much to his chagrin. Dib pushes Zim over with one arm.  
“Tiny.”  
“You’re officially uninvited from my Sharknado marathon.”  
“Aw, come on, Zim.”  
“I will not ‘come on,’ smell-boy.”  
“I’ll bring popcorn.”  
“Ehhh.” Zim pauses, and then finally throws his hands up in defeat. “Fine. You’re reinvited, on the condition that you don’t mock my height.”  
“Okay, deal.”

A small silence stretches between them, and a small wind picks up. Dib casts his eyes towards the sky. It’s a cloudless night, but even if the forecast tells you to expect a dry summer, rain is always just around the corner. 

“Dib?”  
“Yeah, Zim?”  
“Can you explain your human gender to me?”  
“Again?”


End file.
